Do you experience a teeny-tiny bit of book envy when one of your favorite crafty bloggers writes a fantastic, new book? Are you passionate about your craft? Do you want to write a book? Susanne Woods is an acquisitions editor for C&T Publishing, and she offered to answer some of our burning publishing questions today.

Sew,Mama,Sew!: You’re an Acquisitions Editor. Can you tell us a little about what that entails? What is your work like?

Susanne: I have the coolest job I can think of! You know you hit the jackpot when you are getting paid for what you would be doing if you had spare time—reading blogs, looking through magazines, browsing bookshops and Amazon, attending craft fairs and quilt shows, looking for trends in the worlds of retail and fashion. I am always keeping my eyes open for new ideas and content to figure out a way to translate and identify trends. I also spend a lot of time developing books with our existing authors so they continue to publish with us as their career grows.

Basically, an Acquisitions Editor is the first line in the publishing process and is the major advocate for the project as they often decide what projects to propose to the rest of their team for potential publication. I am always searching…

SMS: How did you get started in the field? Susanne: I was actually an intern at C&T when I was in the final year of my English degree and before I went to New York University to study in their Publishing Course. After the course, I went on to work in New York at Workman Publishing, then moved to London for six years to continue my book publishing career where I focused on illustrated publishing—art, design, cooking, gardening. Anything with pictures.

SMS: How did you end up with your company? Susanne: I met my husband in London and we decided to move back to the US near my much-missed family to open our own business. We were going to open a bookstore but the competition was too tight. I have always had an interest in furniture and design so we decided to open a furniture consignment store (www.chameleonconsignment.com). Four years and two lovely little boys later, I was approached by C&T about this amazing opportunity. I have been a quilter for years but the possibility of combining my fabric addiction with my book addiction seemed the remotest of possibilities. Talk about a dream job opportunity.

SMS: Can you tell us a little about your company?Susanne: C&T is such a dynamic company and is an industry leader in the fabric world. The staff is all so passionate about their work and our authors leave me truly awestruck. This is an especially exciting time for us as a publisher because we have been able to grow with the craft industry and it is such a privilege for me to introduce so many innovative and exciting authors for potential publication. C&T itself is 25 years old and having such a respected reputation with the fabric manufacturers and fabric stores certainly makes my acquisitions easier. Most anyone who has worked with fabric in their crafting knows the C&T name and probably has quite a few of their books on their shelves.

SMS: We have a lot of really talented readers who would probably love to get a book deal! Can you fill us in on how the book publishing process works? What are publishers looking for?Susanne: One of the most surprising comments I hear from first-time authors is how intimidating the prospect of submitting a book proposal is. Just bear in mind that often publishers want to find you just as much as you want to find them. I’ll be posting a series on the C&T blog about the Acquisitions process where I will go into a bit more detail for those who want to know more, but here are my Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts for anyone interested in submitting a book proposal:

Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts#1 Don’t let concern about your writing skills prevent you from submitting. We have Developmental Editors to help with that.

#2 Don’t wait to complete the book before submitting your idea. At C&T, we just request a sample chapter, an outline and photographs of a representational project for the book.

#3 Do create a strong presence through teaching, blogging, pattern writing, craft fairs, Etsy sales, creating a fabric line and anything else that might both show your commitment and demonstrate interest in your style, your creations and yourself. Create publicity about yourself and your business to make the marketing and sales departments drool.

#4 Do ride the wave. The best time to publish and establish yourself is when you are busiest—when you are working on a fabric line or when your pattern business is really taking off. The more components you can coordinate to be advertising at the same time, the less time it will take you in the long term. It’s a lot easier to really gain a groundswell of excitement about your work if you can juggle all the balls at once.

#5 Do your homework with regard to the publisher you want to work with. The more you know about their list of titles they currently publish, the better able you are to sell yourself as a natural fit. Think of it in the same way as you would applying for college.

#6 Don’t submit to multiple publishers at once. Publishing is a funny old animal. There is a lot of unspoken etiquette and this is one.

#7 Don’t tell. In such a small segment of the publishing industry, any editor prides themselves on finding the next success. Competition is high. Friends and family-fine to talk to. Blog and industry shows-not fine.

#8 Don’t expect to make a million dollars. Publishing is not a high profit business, so really look at how a book will increase your profile, not create it.

#9 Do be prepared for the project to take a year. Right now, I am acquiring for our Fall 2010 list with finished projects due in Fall 09.

#10 Do be afraid of self-publishing. Free up your time and capital to grow your business in other ways. Take advantage of the marketing, publicity and fulfillment of a publisher. If you feel your idea is that good, just negotiate a better contract. Talk to your acquiring editor about having a big input in the design if that is the concern.

And a bonus #11 is the show-me-the-money advice: When deciding on a publisher to submit a proposal to, look at the retail prices they charge for their books. The money you see from your book will be based in part on the retail price. A lot of publishers try to keep their prices low, like $25 for a 256 page book. Because C&T is a premium publisher, we would set the retail price of $25 for an 80 page book. Same money, ½ the work.

SMS: How could someone find a publisher?Susanne: Of course, I would suggest C&T first! Another good way to determine which publisher might be a good match is to look at your bookshelf or the books you check out from the library. Go to a bookstore. Who publishes the books that you like the most? Also take a look at where the publishers advertise themselves. Because of the big boom in the craft industry, I have seen a lot of publishers come in and dabble in the sewing world. Be a bit careful here. If they are only publishing a few books in the craft category they won’t be publicizing your book at Market, or at the CHA shows or online. Their publicity departments won’t necessarily know where to submit review copies to spread the word and the marketing departments won’t know where to best spend their advertising dollars…

C&T Publishing staff

At C&T, we are really working to cater to new customers entering the sewing world as well as publishing titles to our core quilting audience. Because it takes us about a year from acquiring a book to seeing it in the bookstores, you won’t see the results of a new direction right away. So take a look at who the Acquisitions Editor is, how long they have been there, and what their vision for their list is. I recently started at C&T so you won’t see the titles I have acquired until Fall 2010—publishing is a slow process.

SMS: What is the best way to approach a publisher?Susanne: Publishers usually have set submission guidelines which can often be found on their website. The C&T submissions guidelines are here. Be sure to follow them carefully as publishers are not only looking for good ideas, they are also looking to weed out those who just made their first tea-cozy and think they have enough for an entire book.

SMS: If someone sees a book in their future but they aren’t quite ready to contact a publisher, what sorts of things can they do in the meantime? Susanne: #1 Publishers like to create books representing collaborative projects. If you are reading this, chances are that you have some blogging friends. Don’t be shy in asking a selection of 10-12 people to come together and each contribute a project or a few projects along a single theme.

#2 If you have a blog or a shop or are creating a few patterns, take time to reflect your personal style in your logo and the design for your blog and/or shop, or magazine articles where your work is published. You can use this to support a consistent look in a book proposal.

#3 Demonstrate your ability to effectively teach. C&T have refused many presentations where the core work is good, but the student work isn’t. If you can’t teach it, you can’t publish a high quality instructional book. Either online or in person—establish yourself as an effective instructor.

SMS: Can people contact you if they have more questions about the process?Susanne: I LOVE my job, love the industry and am always excited to help. Feel free to contact me at [email protected].

We’d love to hear and learn more… Do you have any experience with the process? Are you hoping for a book in your future? Share in the comments!

Related Posts

412 Responses to So you want to publish a book…

Hello all who have checked in!
I’ve been so overwhelmed by everyone’s responses but have finally managed to pull myself together enough to post some more info on our blog at C&T Publishing. I think it should post on Tuesday 16 March if anyone wanted a bit more detailed info on the publishing process.

Thank you! I am really happy to see your emphasis on having teaching experience. I teach a lot and every time I do I discover something that I forgot to put in a handout because it seemed so obvious (and really wasn’t). This is a great post!

I took a Technical Writing course for my undergrad English degree. We had a lady come in to talk about her publishing experience. It’s so fascinating to see the whole process. She happened to have published a craft book. But anyway, it’s great to have your view on the publishing process. Thanks for sharing!

Reading some of the messages above, the one asking about libraries caught my attention, “…Do the publishing companies dislike/resent libraries…?”
Gulp! I hope the answer is NO!
Libraries buy books! And often I request quilting books my library decides to buy rather than borrow from another library. I use library books as a preview – often buying my own copy if I love, love, love it. Because libraries do demand you give them back their books
Nice article too!

Thank you SO much for this great information. I’ve dreamed of being an author for years and years. Maybe this year I’ll finally send out some query letters. SMS, you’re a constant source of inspiration.

Very interesting and a very big thank you.. My aunts were all big crafters and they all sewed beatifully. I treasure the stuff that they made me. I am glad there has been a revival of all things crafty.

Wow, what a great post! I’ve always been curious about publishing and it always seems so exciting when my favorite blog author becomes a published author as well. This is certainly a post that I will file away for the future! Thank you!

I’ve always wanted to publish a book- sometimes you find one that looks so promising but falls so short of the mark that you think, “I could do better than that!” Or you need 6 books to give you the info for one project idea because they each focus on some aspects, but not all. This interview has given us all some great insights into the world of book publishing (that almost seemed a forbidden planet!)

thanks for the really interesting interview. My brain was buzzing the entire day after I read this post with ideas for a craft book. Not that I have time to do one right now, but I am super inspired. I was thinking it would be cool to do a book with companion crafts — dress up clothes and other play-related sewing crafts for moms, and simple paper crafts that kids could make to add to the costume.

Also, have you ever checked out crazymomquilts.blogspot.com? She probably has a full book’s worth of projects on her blog already. Definitely worth a look.

Creativity and publishing are something near and dear to my graphic designer’s heart. All very good information to help the publishing process seem less intimidating. How do you determine when a given “market” is flooded and start looking for fresh ideas?

I am also interested in what the other Emily wrote at 4:18 today about copyright infringement.
Also, I do not have my own fabric line- is this something that makes a big difference when trying to publish a book with fabric projects?
Thank you so much for your information!

Great interview! I always wondering how people choose publishers. despite being a big reader, I never really followed particular publishers. Lately I’ve been paying closer attention to see what matches my taste. The same easily applies to craft books.

While I have no intentions of ever writing a book I do love reading them. It was great to read what one might expect to “go through” to get their book on my shelf. One thing I would like to comment on for sewing/quilting books is my love and desire for more books with full sized patterns included. There’s nothing more uninspiring than having to enlarge 200% before beginning! Thanks for a great interview!

Suzanne! that was good! now I know I will be 65 before I publish…if that ever happens. Actually, I have taught a lot, but have never wanted a book,…even though I have patterns, lots of bag styles….but your info! it was fabulous and very calming.

I’ m just curious about how craft book authors feel about libraries – I just got the “Sew What Skirts” book from my local library and I”m looking forward to trying something from it. However, that means that I won’t be buying a copy of the book myself. Do the publishing companies dislike/resent libraries because of this?

Some very good advice there. Especially about not telling the world before you seal the deal! And not shopping around to multiple publishers at the same time. How exciting it would be to be picked up by a company like C&T!

Wow, you do have the dream job! I’m new to quilting and I was surprised on how theraputic measuring, cutting and ironing is, lol. In your opinion, what is the biggest mistake new quilters make? Do you have and tips of advice you can offer for machine quilting?

hi…
i have one question… or maybe two. my friend and i collaborate quite a bit on various projects. sometimes we follow a “what if we tried” process, sometimes we think “i can do that better/easier/cheaper/ with less steps and sometimes and sometimes we see a picture or something in the world and try to transform it into fiber art. how do you decide what is your own idea or if an idea has been transformed enough to call it yours? i would love to publish some of our designs but i am fearful of copyright infringement.
emily

Since I don’t know anyone who is skilled at sewing, I love having an expert’s input by way of his or her book. It’s so nice to know that editors are out there seeking the creative talents and helping out with the writing.

Very interesting information. Thank you for taking the time to share with us.
One person I would *LOVE* to see publish a crafting book is Julie Williams of Little Cotton Rabbits blog. She also has an etsy shop where she sells the most adorable stuffed knitted animals! Go take a peek at her etsy shop. They’re sure to make you smile.

I enjoed reading your interview. Thank you for the wonderful advice in the Do’s and Don’ts section. Would you consider publishing a book about how to get started in sewing or crafting business? Perhaps including venues and sources for materials to help newbies get started, successfully. I know that some magazines have provided some information.
Just thinking.
Janet

Wow… now I understand why some of my favorite ol’ blogs have become sort-of… agenda-driven, for lack of a better word. The bloggers’ desire to feed this monster has robbed them of their most precious possession: their unadulterated, unbridled, one-of-a-kind voice. [sigh] where’s an innocent little blog seeker to go now…

Thank you for sharing all this valuable information. I have a daughter interested in writing and I know she’ll love this interview as well. I have always tried to instill in my children (I have 4) the concept of working at something you love. Sounds like you have. Again, thanks for your insight.

Thank you for this very informative inside look at the publishing world! You answered a lot of questions about how the process works, the whys and hows-I really enjoyed this interview. Recently I have found craft books with multiple contributors, Knit Along and Zakka for the Home are two, to be very inspiring. Thanks again! Eliza

What a great idea for an interview – thanks SMS. I have a much greater appreciation for how much work goes into building a career & a name before a publishing deal ever happens. Since I am far from having that kind of recognition, I would like to know how to get started with just printing & selling my own patterns. How can I get them out there? Thanks again to SMS and Susanne.

Great interview!
Obviously if a book is published the author(s) will be promoting the book through their blog, websites etc. In general are their other expectations of the publishing company for book promotion by the author(s) – i.e. travel to various cities, industry shows etc? How long could a promotion trip last?
Also, what are some new trends in crafting that you see?

I hate to admit it, but I do get a bit envious when seeing all the new craft books out there. What bothers me is that the heart of handmade crafts & items is becoming mass market. Handmade is now the “in” thing, but I think a bit of soul was sold to get there.

Thanks so much! As a writer and a teacher I was really excited to read this article! I also find it inpirational to read about people who have found their dream jobs (I am still working my way towards finding mine…)

Thanks for the interview! I work for a trade book publisher that is just starting to do some crafty books (which, of course, is MY passion) and it’s interesting to hear how things are at the craft-centric publishing houses.

This article was very informative. I especially enjoyed the Top Ten Questions with a bonus. Crafters are a creative bunch and I think many of us would like to see our creativity spill over into a book to share with the world. It is great that you have a job that you love and brings happiness to others.

this was so awesome to read! I just started getting crafty and exploring where that can take me… which, after reading this interview- it is very apparent to me that it can take me wherever I want. Thanks!

I landed here after discovering “sewmamsew” while on facebook. This was an interesting interview and I appreciated the “tips”. Very insiring to read about someone who does what they love. This is a goal of mine that I’ve nearly given up on! Thanks for the encouragement.I checked a link to C+T pub. and learned that I own several of these books!!

Great interview – it’s always inspiring and interesting to see things from different perspectives. Although I have no intentions of getting published, I do find inspiration in craft books and the beautiful photographs that come with them. It was interesting to see it from a publisher’s point of view.

What a fantastic job. . .delving into piles of so many creative projects and ideas. I was excited when a pattern I developed went with our local quilt shop to Pacific Quilt International, but a book. . .over the top exciting!

Great article! One day I’ll bring together all my creativities and it will be useful to have this information stored up! I have a complete love for books and for crafts. So for now I will get paid for the books part (working at my fav. bookstore) and not get paid for sewing pretty things for my baby.

Wow, I live in Lafayette and I am a customer of Chameleon Consignment. Everyone there has such a lovely accent. Your job sounds amazing! My book collection is almost larger than my fabric/fiber collection.
Wendy

thanks so much for sharing all of this with us. i’m in the pubulishing industry myself, but on the public relations side of things, and so often even i don’t know how the acquistions side of things works!

I think you’re right about building a presence on the web, because there are people I follow on the web and I’d love to see their work in a book. Maybe they haven’t even thought of it, but it’d be cool for me as a reader.

Thank you so much for this! It’s really fascinating and wonderful, this glut of DIY sewing books. Gives me hope for the creative future, and makes me want to go back to work in publishing. Only books like that this time!

Susanne, thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge and experience with us! This interview has been enormously helpful in detailing the publishing aspects of marketing one’s own designs. Your top 10 list is a great starting point for those of us who would like to be published someday. Many thanks!

I bookmarked this page. My head is swimming with ideas. I especially loved the top ’11’ tips. I really liked the idea of a group project book. I was wondering about Canadian authors. Do you only publish American authors or could there be Canadian authors considered for book deals. I ask because the internet has no borders and I was wondering if your search was limited to the U.S.
Thanks for such a great interview.

that sounds like an amazing job.
And I am so in love with the sign for the furniture store!!!! That’s awesome and hilarious and adorable all rolled into one. Definitely an attention-grabber.
I’m also glad for the information on submitting a crafting book to a publisher. I fall under the ‘not right now but maybe later’ category, as i just love teaching people new techniques, and it’s good to know what a publisher is looking for.

Thanks for such an enlightening article. It’s interesting to find out a bit about what goes on behind-the-scenes.

A question for you – what sort of amount would the author get from the retail price? I understand that’s it’s not enough to get rich on and there are plenty of other people who deserve a share, but I’m curious to know.

Fantastic advice, thanks! Are most of the crafters/writers who approach you full-time teachers/crafters/etc, or do you see a lot of hobbyists with good materials as well? I am a full-time corporate employee and a part-time quilter. I’d like to do more with my quilting but I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to devote to teaching and blogging after working a full day.

I’m always fascinated with how the quilting world keeps finding interesting people and subjects to write about… keep it up… I have yet to find a quilting book I didn’t like! One book I would like to see written… would be on using nontraditional fabrics in quilting… linen, silk, etc. and exactly what are the advantages and disadvantages. Have found some info on this on the web, but would love it all in one place. SMS… love your new fabrics!

Wow! Thanks for the the good information. I was surprise by the level of honesty. I guess I always thought that you need to know somebody in the business to get this kind of information. An article from an author about the process of creating a book would be great information, like what does the publisher do and what does the author need to do.

Thanks for doing the interview! It was really interesting to read. I know I would like to see more sewing for children books- especially for boys! One book full of wonderful ideas and a few patterns for boys would be fantastic.

What a great interview! I’ve done some freelance writing and it’s a tough field. My dream is to publish a book and Susanne’s information is a great resource. I’m going to save the interview to a file folder for reference.

Thanks for such an informative interview, Suzanne! I especially liked the suggestion of collaborating with people; I often find that those are the types of books I buy for myself as the projects are so diverse. Thanks again!

I would love to publish a book some day and found the information in the interview very helpful. Thank you Sew Mama Sew for another great article/post. This is one of four sites I visit daily. I’ve found many great patterns and instructions as a result.

Hi, I have a few questions. How is the economic downturn influencing the types of projects you are lining up? Maybe you are looking for more books that use recycled materials in crafting, or how to repurpose and upcycle materials?
Also do you connect with crafters and artists at craft shows, especially the new independent craft fairs, like Bizarre Bazaar in Boston or Crafty Bastards in D.C.? Often these feature crafters giving demos as well as selling wares. (I’m in the production side of textbook publishing, but our aquisitions team attends quite a few academic conferences to network with academics and meet potential new authors, so I am trying to think of equivalents in the craft world.)

Thanks for the informative interview. I have a friend who had been trying to figure out if publishers would be interested in her patterns and so forth, so I pointed her to your link. She does amazing work but has zero web presence, which I think she has decided to work on first based on your comments. Thanks!

I love the tips for those of us with dreams of one day, yes one day, being able to get paid for what we love. Also the tips for how to get started if we aren’t quite ready yet. So thank you! Very helpful, and a bit inspiring.

This is great information about something I know very little about. I don’t know if I will ever write/develop a book but now I’m glad to have some info to work with or refer to if it does happen. Thanks!

I am so excited to see this!! I’ve always wanted to write a book, and now, a year and a half into being a self (and internet, lol) taught sewer, I’ve really been toying with the idea of writing something to help and inspire others. This is just the motivation I needed. I never knew you didn’t have to have the entire book written before submitting it, that’s an excellent tip and is easing some of the stress of coming up with an idea and putting it together. Thanks for the great info!

I feel lucky to have found this blog today, and then find this post of Q&A’s. I have been working with a friend who wants to publish a book. I am so excited to send her the link. I also have a little story that rolls around in my head- one day I hope to put on paper (if only there weren’t so many fun quilting projects I needed to do first!). Thanks for sharing all the information! Have a great weekend! Kim

thanks for the inspiration and the all the great tips! i’m a freelance illustrator/artist who’s taken some time off the last few years, but want to jump back into the scene (although my quilting seems to dominate my drafting table instead of my paper and pencil!!).

Wow, what a terrific interview. I worked in publishing when I was fresh-out-of-college and I do miss it sometimes (I work in a geekier capacity now). How wonderful to have your dream job and to be so forthcoming in sharing goodies with the rest of us! Thank you!

Thank you for the great article, Susanne. Are you currently seeing any growing trends in the craft or sewing world that you feel are underrepresented in published media – i.e. any sewing or craft guides or instructionals that would be expected to sell well, due to a high level of interest from crafters but a current lack of available guides?

I often wonder why there aren’t more craft books that are just pictures. As a quilter, I don’t usually follow patterns, but love to look at lots and lots of pictures of other quilts, take what I like from them and then create a quilt without a pattern.

So nice to meet you and so nice that you would be having such a nice giveaway. I just started quilting and am currently in a beginners machine piecing class. It is so fun and I can’t wait to have my first quilt (for my 4 month old son) finished!!

This is quite inspirational. Makes me feel like little old me can accomplish great things!! I would love to know if anyone knows of a basic quilting books with lots of tips and tricks and varies ways of doing everything, not just one way. If not, I’d love to see a book like that. There’s too many books out there that just show one method and who’s to say it’ll work best for you??

Thanks for all the info Susanne. Very inspiring to say the least. I was wondering though…I’m in my last semester at college right now…do you have any advice on how to translate a passion for quilting/crafting into a career? In the future, when someone asks me what I do, I want to be able to say that I have the best job in the world too!

Thank you so much for the interview! I buy so many of the craft and quilting books it’s wonderful to know about all the work that goes into them. Some of them seem so simple it makes me want to publish as well, but I guess that’s because the publisher and authors are so good it MAKES it look simple! Still, it’s a nice dream to have your passion in print to share with others. Thanks again for taking the time to give us “insider” information and something to aspire to.

That was an awesome interview! I doubt I will ever be creative enough for a whole book, but I liked the idea of getting a group of friends to contribute projects. thanks for the giveaway too, great prizes!

Thanks so much for giving us a window on the publishing world. As a craft book lover, it’s interesting to see what work goes into each book. Thanks for the beautiful and helpful books you company produces.

Even though I am not intrested in writing a book or even having a business (I craft for fun), it is intresting to here how the process works.
I love that books are there to help me, the hobbie crafter!!
Thanks for an im=nformative interview!

wow – so very informative … i always wondered (jealously) how people actually went about getting a crafting book published … it sounds like SO much fun. Definitely a daunting task, but after having read your comments, it makes it seem much more attainable. Thanks!

I would love to publish a book, but I have so many irons in the fire… in the way of quilting (my first love), scrapbooking, knitting, etc. How would I choose just one? I guess I need to start coming up with quilt patterns or find friends with quilt patterns to get me started

Hi, this was a great article, and I loved reading all the tips. Very inspirational. I have a question for Susanne: I work in the museums field, where there is a lot of concern about copyright of images. If someone wanted to publish a craft book, what kinds of copyright issues are there revolving around pictures that include, say, fabrics from certain designers? Would a publishing company help with that? Would the costs associated with getting the right to reproduce a fabric design be significant? (Might they lead to decisions not to use certain fabrics in the images?) I always wonder about that when I see beautiful quilting books.

This is also my entry for the free book contest, and if I won I’d be really glad to get the Foolproof Machine Quilting book!

I think 2009 will see crafting boom in the UK this Spring there’s the first ever Maker Faire in the UK and also UK DIY festival of events. Hopefully this will cascade to UK publishers realising the demand. *fingers crossed*

Hi! Thank you for this “inside” information. I always wondered about publishing this type of book, but always from afar. I couldn’t imagine that publishers would welcome proposals from brand new authors-in-hiding. This is great to know.
Thank You!

Thank you Susanne and Beth for such an informative interview. C&T is such a class act in quilt book publishing and it is so helpful to have the information needed to work with them in the future. As a quilt designer and a certified quilt appraiser, I look forward to developing a quilt history book with them. Thank you for the inspiration and guidance.http://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com

What a fantastic & informative interview. Thank you. Such fantastic inspiration & encouragement for a potential book…or for a new career as an acquisitons editor – Susanne makes that sound almost as tempting an aspiration!

oh my goodness!!
Thanks soooooooo much for this great post and for Susanne who’s really given answers to what we wanted to know. Publishing a craft book is one of my dreams. It really gave me a hope to know after reading this. Now I feel like I should work harder toward my dream!!

Thank you so much for this information! These are very helpful tips that I’m sure many bloggers will be interested in. Also,thanks for the encouragement and demystifying the “intimidation” factor of approaching publishers!

All of this information is wonderful! I loved the top 10, with the bonus. It is wonderful to hear from someone who loves their job so much. Thank you Susanne for sharing all of your expertise!
I look forward to submitting a book proposal:)http://www.sewspoiled.blogspot.com

I approached publishers in the UK with my “Create Your Own Resin Jewellery” title, but it was thought that there was not a big enough market for it in the UK, despite having done market research. I HAVE decided to self-publish as I know it will sell, and registered myself as a publisher too, I just wish the UK publishing houses were as up to speed and on the pulse as the US ones as Suzanne seems to be.

What a fantastic, informative post, Susanne. I think you shed light on a lot of information we crafters are hungry for — tips about developing craft books in particular, rather than generic info on book publishing. Thanks for that. I liked seeing the publishing staff photo, as well.

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We always travel with handmade bags. We have vintage embroidery framed on our walls, piles of fabric next to the sewing machine and more WIPs than we'll ever finish. We love the history, craft and artistry of sewing. Read More

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If you represent a business that is passionate about sewing, quilting or needlework, we'd love to hear from you! We work with like-minded business in a variety of ways, including:

Brand Promotion: We'll help get your name and image out there through ads and sponsored posts.

Product Promotion: We can spread the word about your new product release or arrival to your shop through giveaways, reviews, interviews and social media.

Creative Content: Let's put our heads together to help you meet your business goals! We can collaborate on tutorials, contests, surveys and more.

To learn more about our business partner opportunities, please Contact Us.

Join Our Contributor Community!

Contributing a project or article to Sew Mama Sew is a fun way participate in the sewing community while gaining exposure for your blog or brand. We’d love for you to join us! Learn How